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HIV+ cases on rise because people use drugs, share needles: Assam health minister
According to Assam health minister , 31,729 persons were infected across the district between 2002 and 2022, with an average of 1,587 per year. In 2023 alone, the number stood at 5,791
Silchar: Infection of HIV-AIDS is rising in Assam and 2023 saw a multifold rise, according to health minister Keshab Mahanta. Answering a question raised by Congress MLA Sibamoni Bora on Friday, the minister said that the consumption of drugs and sharing syringes/needles is one of the biggest reasons.
According to Mahanta, 31,729 persons were infected across the district between 2002 and 2022, averaging 1,587 per year. In 2023 alone, the number stood at 5,791.
According to information shared by him, the Assam government conducted 89,84,519 tests between 2002 and 2022 and 31,729 of them were found positive. Of the 990,372 tests conducted in 2023, 5,791 people were found positive.
“It is true that the number is increasing fast and we are trying to take measures to control this. In the past, primary reasons used to be unsafe sexual intercourse and other issues but now consumption of drugs with unsafe needles is the biggest reason,” the minister said.
Mahanta said that geographically, Assam is at the centre of the northeast, and people from various states visit here for different purposes. This is one of the reasons he said the government was failing to detect the areas and communities which are more prone to HIV.
During question hour in the ongoing budget session of the assembly, Bora brought up the issue of the state’s HIV prevalence, stating that the number of new cases has increased. Bora claimed that the state has not given much attention to raising awareness about HIV since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The health minister said there are 52 Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres across the state, working towards the prevention and treatment of HIV infection.
“Presently, 52 ART centres, six Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) centres and 12 satellite OST centres which are working continuously. We have opened OST testing centres in all hospitals. We have also opened 450 Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (ICTC) for counselling purposes across hospitals and sub-centres in Assam. We have also set up testing centres in jails,” he said.
Mahanta also said that the Assam Aids Control Society has been working towards the prevention of HIV infection since its inception.
The state government is taking strict measures to control the supply of drugs but consumption of narcotic products is rising and this has become a concern, he said.
“Many people use the same needle, and the infection spreads easily this way. We are creating mass awareness with the help of NGOs but somewhere, we are not able to reduce the rate of infection,” added Mahanta.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rupak Sarmah said that the numbers shared by the health minister are collected from the testing centres but a large chunk of the population is not even included.
“The actual number of HIV-AIDS infected persons in Assam is higher than the information we have at present,” he said.
